Anne Spencer House

The Anne Spencer House, in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA was, from 1903 to 1975, the home of Anne Spencer, a poet of the Harlem Renaissance. She was the first Virginian and first African-American to have her poetry included in the Norton Anthology of American Poetry. Not only was Spencer a successful poet, she was also a committed activist for equal rights, and her house also served as a political center of the community. It was the first center for the local NAACP chapter, and she entertained such notable figures as Hughees, Marian Anderson, George Washington Carver, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., James Weldon Johnson, and W. E. B. Du Bois.

The Pierce Street House was built in 1903, and the surrounding area includes a large garden and a one-room retreat called Edankraal, where Spencer did much of her writing. The house is a two-story clapboard home. On the first floor, one can find a living room, dining room, sunroom, front hall, and kitchen. The second floor includes four bedrooms and sunroom. The third floor, which is not open to the public, is an area that was mainly used by Spencer’s grandchildren.